


on a scale of absolute trash to life-altering

by perfectlysplendid



Category: The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Canon Rewrite, Canon-Typical Violence, Ellie is a simp, Explicit Language, F/F, Graphic Description, I Am Here To Fix Everything, Implied Sexual Content, No Lesbians Die, Past Relationship(s), came to me in a dream, long fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:06:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26949430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perfectlysplendid/pseuds/perfectlysplendid
Summary: “Because of her, they were actually going to make a cure. The only catch. It would kill her.”“Jesus Christ, Joel. What’d you do?”“I saved her... And I had help.”ORWhat if Ellie and Abby became friends at Saint Mary’s? What if Joel hadn’t killed Abby’s dad because Jerry chose not to do the surgery?
Relationships: Abby & Leah (The Last of Us), Abby & Lev (The Last of Us), Abby & Nora (The Last of Us), Abby/Leah(The Last of Us), Abby/Nora(The Last of Us), Cat/Ellie (The Last of Us), Dina & Ellie (The Last of Us), Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us), Dina/Jesse (The Last of Us), Ellie & Jesse (The Last of Us), Ellie & Joel (The Last of Us)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 74





	on a scale of absolute trash to life-altering

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!
> 
> Before you start, just a quick few things. This is my first work that I have posted. I’ve been writing for myself and my friend for a few years now and I finally felt it was time to publish something. Due to this, I don’t have a beta reader. However, I always reread my work multiple times to ensure there are no misspellings, grammatical errors or anything of that nature. A few might slip past every now and then.
> 
> Also, I will be updating the tags by chapter just in case I have missed something. I will also put warnings in the notes of each chapter for graphic situations. This is mostly rated for depictions of violence and gore and for Ellie’s mouth. The title is currently a working title so let me know in the comments if it’s absolute trash or life-altering!
> 
> This is definitely going to be a long journey, and I’m so happy you are joining me!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything must start somewhere. So, we start in Salt Lake City and Jackson, as Joel recounts his experiences with a twist that would change The Last of Us Part II for the better...
> 
> THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS: descriptions and details of violence, as well as blood and gore

“ _I don’t know what happened...”_

The road to the Fireflies was a long and harrowing journey. It was one filled with ups and downs, infected and raiders. If it were another person, he or she would have went the opposite direction. They would have turned back or gave up long before their journey’s end. Hell, the probably would have never started the mission to find the Fireflies. Taking a fourteen-year-old girl across the country was a mad man’s job. But Joel Miller never gave up. Although, he would admit, on separate occasions, that he had thought about it . But he never did, because Ellie—sweet, stubborn Ellie fucking Williams—believed in him. And through it all, Joel believed in her too. She filled him with hope and happiness, emotions he hadn’t felt in a long time, before Outbreak Day.

_ ”I was supposed to take her to the Fireflies and walk away... You go halfway across the country with someone...” _

During the time they had spent together, going from Boston to Salt Lake City, Joel and Ellie had gotten to know each other fairly well. They shared a favorite color—green—and a common goal. Joel had told her plenty of stories from before her time. Long before fungus started to grow on humans. He had even shared a few about Sarah, even though his chest ached and his mind grew bleary at the mere thought of her. Ellie had told him stories to. Although there weren’t as many as Joel had, she told him about her antics in the Boston Quarantine Zone and the FEDRA school she attended. Joel shared his love for coffee, stating if he had known sooner about the end of the world, he would have bought as much coffee as he could. While they were in Iowa, they had actually found a bag stashed in an abandoned house. Joel had almost collapsed at the sight. They had made two cups of it the best they could, using boiling water over a fire and a strainer they had found. Joel had savored every single drop, but Ellie didn’t see the appeal, and he gladly took her discarded cup. During all those hours and miles, Joel became like a father to Ellie.

_“She needed her immunity to mean something. Maybe I was starting to buy into that whole cure business. Maybe I just wanted to do right by her.”_

Upon their arrival in Salt Lake City, Joel could tell something was wrong. Any other day, Ellie would be bursting with life and energy. She would pull out her joke book or talk about her favorite comic books. However, that day she was quiet and often seemed like her mind was elsewhere. Joel had hoped that promising her that he could teach her how to play the guitar, but even that had failed. That was, until she saw the giraffes. It was as if a switch flipped, and the Ellie he knew so well had returned. They had decided to go around the tunnel that was in their path. Although it had taken a little longer, it was better than the echoes of the dead that filled it.

“ _And then we made it. We found the Fireflies.”_

Joel and Ellie had walked to the Firefly hospital, Saint Mary’s, and were immediately searched. The Fireflies there were skeptical at first, pointing their guns at them and questioning who they were. Why they were there. Why they shouldn’t kill them where they stood. And then Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies, ran through the front doors, waving her arms at her people.

“Don’t shoot!” she screamed at the guards, running and vaulting toward Joel and Ellie. “They’re with me!” The leader embraced Ellie, her chest heaving. The girl hugged her back tight. “I missed you. So much. I almost... I almost lost hope that you would make it.” 

“I missed you too,” Ellie replied, muffled by the fabric of Marlene’s grey tank top. The two stayed in an embrace for a while before parting. The leader of the Fireflies turned to look at Joel, thankfulness filling her eyes. That was mostly how Marlene communicated. It was either her strong words or her fierce eyes. Then, her expression shifted. Into one more concerned, doubtful, and remorseful.

“Tess?” Marlene asked, as if she didn’t already know the answer. Joel looked down, shaking his head. It was the best reply he could give. No, it was the  only reply he could give. Even if it had been several long months ago, losing Tess in Boston still felt like a fresh wound to Joel. So did Henry. And Sam. Marlene looked to the ground, muttering a small “fuck” to herself. After a few moments, she turned her eyes between the two a few times. “Well, I should get you two inside.” Joel and Ellie followed Marlene as they entered Saint Mary’s Hospital. She introduced them to a few people, showed them around, caught up with them. During brief moments, Joel would glance at Ellie. Sometimes, she was attentive, yet other times she was in her head. A few times, he caught her gazing out the window at the giraffes. Joel even caught a glimpse of a zebra and her foal once. Then, they reached the Pediatrics wing. On one side of the hallway was windows, revealing the sides of the hospital and the tall, broken buildings of Salt Lake City. The walls on the other side were painted to look like an ocean with various islands and sailboats. At the end of the hallway was a door, with a large Firefly symbol spray painted in red beside it. Marlene stopped one of her soldiers that had been walking by to speak to him. “Have any of you found Jerry yet?”

“Yes ma’am. He’s in his office with his daughter. Went to look for that fuckin’ zebra again,” the man answered quietly. Joel and Ellie had watched as Marlene huffed out a chuckle and looked down to the floor before she shook her head. Her arms almost instinctively folded over her chest.

“Fucking Jerry,” Marlene scoffed to herself. She then thanked the Firefly, waving him off. He nodded, resuming his stride to wherever he had needed to go before his superior stopped him. As if nothing had ever happened. The soldier had exited through the door from which they had come from. It slammed shut behind him, creating an echo that ricocheted down the hall and in their ears. Marlene then turned to Joel and Ellie.

“There are some people I’d like you to meet.”

“ _Because of her, they were actually going to make a cure.”_

The two followed Marlene down the hall to a door that was slightly ajar. Two voices could be heard, but none of them could make out what they were saying. She had knocked on it twice, causing the voices to end, and waited a few moments before entering. A man stood there, leaning against a desk covered in papers and charts. He was probably in his mid thirties to early forties. He had a kind smile on his face. The man was accompanied by a younger girl, about Ellie’s age. She had blonde hair that was kept up in a braid. She gazed at the three as they entered, giving them a small smile that accompanied the man’s, presumably her father. It had seemed as if she had been in mud prior to their arrival. There were a few flecks of it in her hair. Upon a second examination of the older of the two, there was a splatter of dried mud in the middle of his shirt. The splatter itself seemed to be intentional, however, it was not given to him by his own hand.

“Jerry, Abby, this Joel Miller and Ellie Williams. Joel and Ellie, this is Doctor Jerry Anderson and his daughter, Abby,” Marlene announced, introducing the two pairs to each other.

“Hi there,” Jerry said, adding a little nod once he finished speaking. Abby waved awkwardly, as if she didn’t know what else to do. It had seemed that she had noticed her wave had came off that way, because she had dropped her right arm, returning it to her side. Abby then raised her left hand to her right forearm and held it. Almost as if to keep it down from doing anything else ridiculous. Abby’s awkwardness caused a faint smile on Ellie’s lips. Not from laughter or joy at the poor girl’s actions but from how relatable it was to her own self.

“Hey,” Joel and Ellie replied, quite literally at the same time. It caused the pair to glance at each other. 

“Ellie here is the girl I was talking about, Jerry. She’s immune,” Marlene explained, breaking what little moment Joel and Ellie had been sharing. They watched as the surgeon’s eyes widened before he examined Ellie in awe. 

“Let’s see it then,” Jerry stated. There was something in his voice. A quarrel of two separate emotions; skepticism and reassurance. Ellie looked to Joel, a question in her eyes. He saw it and only answered it with a single, small nod of his head. She then pulled up her sleeve, revealing the old bite mark on her right arm. Over time, it had scarred over, no longer a three-week-old, bubbled-up bite mark that was there when she first met Joel. No longer the fresh, bloody one that was there with Riley, where it should have ended. “Holy shit.”

“By this time in two days, we could have a cure,” Marlene claimed, her voice full of hope. There was a reason some people were meant to be leaders, like Marlene. Leaders can fill their followers, or even just people who happen to be in the same room with them, with the emotions they are attempting to convey. Even though it was near impossible to make a cure to a virus that plagued their world for two decades, Marlene’s words gave the three hope that they could. “Well, I believe Abby and Ellie should get to know each other. Joel, if you’ll follow me.” Ellie looked to Joel once more. Again, he replied with a single nod, as if urging her on to meet the other girl. He squeezed her shoulder, one last push for good measure, and followed Marlene out of the office. Ellie and Abby approached each other.

“Hey Abs, I’m gonna go get a few things ready. I’ll be back in a bit, okay?” Jerry said, grabbing a few papers off his messy desk.

“As long as you don’t run off again,” Abby replied, beaming.

“Well I got my girl to find me if I do, again,” Jerry joked. He walked over to his daughter, who rolled her brown eyes at his remark. The surgeon placed a hand on her shoulder, as Joel had done to Ellie only moments before. What differed between the two events was Jerry had patted her shoulder once before he removed his hand. He then exited the office, the door shutting behind him. The room was filled with silence, the girls’ eyes darting around to almost avoid staring at each other.

“Your dad is pretty cool,” Ellie stated, growing tired of the awkward and nervous air in the small office.

“So is yours,” Abby responded.

“Oh, Joel? He isn’t really my dad. I guess you would say he’s kinda like my father figure. And I do see him as a dad but I don’t think he would want me to call him that...” Ellie stopped herself before Abby got bored with her rambling. She thought back to only hours ago, when she had tried to give Joel the picture of him and Sarah. 

“Oh.”

Another brief silence.

“So... What do you like to do?”

“I like to read. And me and my dad like to collect state quarters.”

“No shit, really?! I picked up one of those while we were in Indiana!” Ellie exclaimed. She hauled her bag off of her back and quickly rummaged through it. She then produced a small piece of metal from her backpack, passing it to Abby. “Sorry, it’s not in the best condition.” The blonde inspected the quarter closely in her palm. Over time, it had gotten scuffed up and dirty, hiding it’s design under a thick blanket of a dark grey. It was difficult to make out the state and year the quarter belonged to, but eventually Abby figured it out. And when she did, her deep brown eyes lit up and she gaped up at Ellie. At first, the red-head thought she had done something wrong, but that idea had been scrapped when Abby beamed as bright as the sun.

“It’s Delaware 1999! We don’t have this one yet! Thank you!” Abby shouted excitedly, pocketing the small piece of dirty metal. Then, she did something Ellie wasn’t expecting. The blonde wrapped her hands around her neck, hugging her tight. The red-head was stunned, her mouth agape and eyes wide. As Abby started to pull away, Ellie relaxed her expression into a soft smile to avoid the blonde perceiving her as weird. “What about you? What are you into?”

“I read the Savage Starlight comics and collect trading cards. I also like to draw. Joel said he’s gonna teach me how to play the guitar too.”

“Joel seems like a great guy.”

Ellie smiled to herself, her mind traveling back to a memory, one she could never forget. The resort, in the burning building with David. After she had killed him.

“ _ It’s me! It’s me! It’s me! Look. Look. It’s me,” Joel repeated, first urgently until it ended softly, pleadingly. Ellie’s face was bruised, and in that moment, Joel couldn’t tell if the blood that had been splattered on her face was David’s or her own. The only thing he could see was her sad, terrified eyes and the tears that ran from them.  _

_ “He tried to-“ Ellie choked out, cutting herself off with a sob.  _

_ “Oh, baby girl...” Joel breathed out, immediately pulling her close. _

“Yeah. Yeah he is.”

Their footsteps reverberated in the halls and corridors as Joel trailed Marlene to God knew where. It had felt as if he had walked behind her for hours. They passed a few other Fireflies from time to time, but they never spoke to them. In fact, they treated them as if they weren’t even there. As if they were ghosts. The smuggler remained silent, hoping that by staying mute, he could go back to Ellie with more haste. 

“As promised, I’ll show you to your guns,” Marlene announced, breaking their almost everlasting hushed trek through the hospital. 

“I don’t give a fuck about the guns anymore,” Joel grumbled. His words forced the leader of the Fireflies to stop her gait. She turned to face him, her eyes squinted at him in confusion and a hint of irritation.

“Then what do you want? Food? Supplies? Medicine?” Marlene questioned.

“I want you and your doctors to make this cure so Ellie and I can go,” Joel answered.

“Your job was to deliver her and leave. That’s it. You’ve done your part,” Marlene hissed out.

“No, I’m leavin’ with her,” Joel argued, his fists clenched at his sides. The leader of the Fireflies stared at him, for a long while, as if planning to make her next move, or maybe it was something else. Maybe Marlene was searching him for any sign he would stop fighting back. Joel noticed she seemed to calm as she came to her conclusion, and her whole demeanor shift unsettled him. No, of course she wouldn’t let him leave this hospital with Ellie. Not while he was still breathing.

“I guess you are no longer needed here then,” Marlene said. As if on cue, other Fireflies swarmed in, guns pointed at Joel. There was no point in fight back. Not with that many Fireflies. One of them came from behind, pulling Joel’s pack from his shoulders. Then, two sets of hands grabbed his own and placed them harshly behind his back. “Take him down to the cells. Don’t let him escape.”

That night, Ellie lied on a couch in Abby’s room. Abby was asleep, her shallow breathing and occasional tooth grinding were the only two sounds in the calm room. She was glad she met Abby. At first, the blonde seemed like she was one to keep a lot to herself. But after talking with her and getting to know her, Abby was humble, caring, and hilarious. However, laying there in the noiseless darkness, Ellie felt Joel’s absence resonate around her. With him gone, she felt lonely in the most crowded of rooms. She missed his smile, his laugh, his warm and comforting embraces,  him entirely.  Ellie hoped, with every ounce of it that she had left in her being, that Joel didn’t leave her there. How could he? After everything they had been through together. However, that was his plan in the beginning. Before they had grown to see each other as almost father and daughter. Ellie sighed, rolling over to a new position and adjusting the pillow under her head. That night, Ellie slept on a couch in Abby’s room, dreaming a perfect world. One where the Fireflies made a cure, and Ellie, Joel, Abby, and her dad went back to Jackson.

That night, Joel sat on the floor in the man-made cells of the Firefly hospital. There was a guard posted right outside the steel bars, but Joel never tried anything. He feared that if he did, they would do something to Ellie. Far worse than anything David and his group of cannibals could have done to her. Joel sipped from the cup of water the guard from before had gave him. Then, he heard a door open. He observed the guard’s departure, and Marlene taking his place. 

“Tomorrow, the world finally has a chance. After twenty fucking years. And it’s all thanks to you and her,” Marlene announced. She didn’t turn to her attention to Joel when she spoke. Instead, she stared at the giant Firefly that was spray painted on the wall, directly adjacent to Joel’s cell. He chose not to speak, just placed his small cup down beside him and bit the inside of his cheek. “First thing in the morning, Ellie will be prepped for surgery.” The words took a moment to process in Joel’s mind. However, his attention was only caught on one.

“The hell you mean, ‘surgery’?” he questioned, peering at her. Marlene turned around, resting her arms on the steel bars. 

“The doctors have told me the cordyceps that grew inside her is mutated. They don’t know how or why but that’s how she’s immune. If they remove it, they can reverse engineer a vaccine,” Marlene explained. 

“But... But it grows all over the brain,” Joel murmured, looking into the leader’s eyes to see if she was joking. But she wasn’t. Marlene gave him a look, one that answered the question that was buzzing in his head. Joel put his hands over his face, forcing his tears away. Oh, God.

“ _The only catch. It would kill her.”_

An angry fire ignited in Joel. Acting upon only instinct, he rose to his feet instantly. In a flash, he was in front of where Marlene stood. The only thing that separated them was the metal bars. Using her own instincts, the leader of the Fireflies hurriedly backed away, her hand on the pistol at her side.

“Find someone else,” Joel gritted out, gripping the bars until his knuckles turned white. Marlene’s expression hardened.

“There is no one else,” she replied lowly. Her hold tightened on the pistol, readying herself for if she needed to shoot. “If there were others, why would I have asked you and Tess to do this?! You really think I want it to be her?! I’ve known her ever since she was born!”

“Then why are you letting this happen?!” Joel yelled with rage.

“Because this isn’t about me, or you, or even her! There is no other choice here!” Marlene barked back, fuming with anger. Joel looked down to the floor. Then, he walked back to the spot where he was before and resumed his sitting position. He scoffed, looking up at the leader of the Fireflies with a true, unmatchable hatred.

“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that bullshit,” Joel mumbled. Marlene’s expression turned to a scowl. One that would drive a thousand knives through someone if looks could actually kill. She turned on her heels and threw open the door, causing it to slam into the cinder block wall.

“You! Keep an eye on him! If he tries anything, shoot him!” Marlene demanded. From inside the manmade prison, Joel could hear her receding footsteps as she stormed off. The soldier then walked in and stood where he was before. Almost as if she had never came in. He buried his face in his hands, letting out a deep breath. That night, Joel could barely sleep, haunted by vivid images of Marlene cutting open Ellie’s head. And all he could do was be forced to watch.

“ _Jesus Christ, Joel. What’d you do?”_

“ _I_ _ saved her... And I had help.” _

It had felt like a blink of an eye when morning came. Joel still sat on the floor of his cell, his back against the cold wall. His cup of water was near empty. He turned his attention to the guard, observing how his head slowly tipped forward before quickly rising back up. The door suddenly opened and Joel expected to see Marlene. He imagined her with blood already staining her shirt as she came to retrieve him. Even a splatter of it on her face, like she was a serial killer from one of those old horror movies he used to watch with Tommy. However, the person who entered was Jerry. He had blood on his surgery apron. Oh, God, he had blood on it.  _Ellie_ .

“Doctor Anderson, is there something I can do for you?” the guard asked. He yawned right after.

“I would like to give Joel an update on the surgery. You can go ahead and call it a day. I’ll personally find a guard to replace you,” Jerry stated.

“Thanks,” the man replied. He then exited the room, leaving the two alone.

“What have you done to Ellie, you son of a-“ Joel started to say before he was interrupted by the clinking of keys. Jerry had pulled them out of his pocket quickly and inserted one in the cell door.

“Joel, I’m going to need you to trust me, okay? This isn’t real blood. It’s two chemicals mixed together to make it look like it. Potassium thiocyanate and ferric nitrate. I had to do something so I wouldn’t look suspicious- God dammit, which key is it?!” Jerry snapped, frantically searching for the right key. Ellie is fine. She is being prepped for a surgery that will not happen. I won’t let it,”

“Bullshit,” Joel huffed out. 

“It’s the truth. Marlene is hellbent on making this cure so she can use it against FEDRA and any other positions of power. She would bend the world to her will if she wanted to. It was never about curing cordyceps,” Jerry continued, finally unlocking the door. Joel stood and carefully walked over to the surgeon. He could see it in his eyes. Everything he was saying was true. “If it was my daughter on that table, I don’t think I would ever do it. Even if Marlene held a gun to my head.” Joel looked at him for a moment, and the vivid images that plagued his mind disappeared. He nodded in understanding. “Okay, so here’s what we’re going to do.” Jerry hastily walked down the short hall and grabbed Joel’s bag, passing it back to it’s owner. “This is usually the time the guards switch so the hallways should be mostly clear. Abby is in my office so we’ll go get her and then Ellie.”

“Wouldn’t they have started the procedure by then?” Joel questioned.

“They wouldn’t start without me,” Jerry claimed. He produced a pistol from underneath his surgery apron and carefully opened the door. He peeked out for a short second before signaling Joel to follow. Together, they sprinted down almost endless corridors before they reached a flight of stairs. When the two entered the stairwell, they could hear voices coming from above. “Quick, give me your backpack and gun, I have an idea.” Joel handed the items over to the doctor, who quickly shoved both of their guns into the bag and put it on his back. He then grabbed Joel’s shoulder and led him up the stairs. When they reached the pediatrics floor, two guards were posted in front of the entrance.

“Doctor Anderson, shouldn’t you be in surgery?” one of them asked, confused.

“That’s actually where I’m headed. I’m taking him to say a final goodbye to his daughter,” Jerry answered. Joel felt a pain ricochet in his body when Jerry said “daughter”. He didn’t know where it came from, or why it happened. Was it because of Sarah? Or viewing Ellie as his own daughter, which he already has? Or perhaps the thought of losing Ellie like he did Sarah? Joel didn’t know nor did he have the time to figure it out.

“Oh shit, sorry dude,” the other guard said, quickly opening the door for them. The two entered and Joel was greeted by the familiar sight of a painted ocean. Jerry hastily pulled out his gun from the pack before he handed it to Joel. He took out his own, slinging the bag back into placed as he trailed Jerry to his office. Abby was leaning against the desk when the two men charged in.

“Dad, what’s going on?” Abby questioned worriedly. Jerry stood in front of his daughter, putting a hand on one of her shoulders.

“Listen Abs, we are getting out of here. I would say you’re going to need to be strong but you already are,” Jerry joked, making Abby smile. She punched his arm lightly in reply. Then, a piercing alarm rang out, and the hallway turned red. The doctor turned to Joel, panic filling his eyes. “Abby, stay close to us!” The three raced down the hall to the surgery room. They burst through the door to find three nurses, who waiting on the surgeon to arrive, but not expecting the two others that accompanied him. 

“Doctor, what are you doing?!” one of the nurses yelled.

“The right thing,” Jerry muttered, raising his gun to point it at them. Abby, as if on cue, did the same. “Back up! Back up!” When they did, Joel rushed over and started unplugging the multiple wires and tubes that were on Ellie.

“Oh baby girl, it’s okay. I’m here. I gotcha,” Joel murmured. He carefully picked her up into his arms, her head resting on his chest. Then, the three heard heavy footsteps approach, coming from the hall. Jerry pulled open a door and motioned for them to follow. When the gunshots rang out was when they started run. The group reach an operating elevator and rushed in, pressing the button to go to the parking deck.

“There’s running trucks down here. We’ll use one of those,” Jerry stated, trying to catch his breath. They all were. When the elevator stopped and opened, Jerry pressed one of the emergency stop button before leading them out. That’s when they heard the click of a gun. Marlene stood, feet away from the group. Her face twisted up in hatred. 

“I told you, Joel. I fucking told you! There’s no other choice here!” Marlene screamed. “Why couldn’t you have listened?! You can’t save her!” She had gone mad, in every way a person could. 

“That ain’t for you to decide. You don’t get to play God, Marlene,” Joel replied quietly. 

“It’s what she would want. You know that,” Marlene added.

“She would really want you to have what’s left of the world fall to their knees for you?” Jerry questioned. Marlene carefully started to lower her gun.

“How did you know?” She questioned, her eyebrows raised.

“It was right in front of all of us. I just started to see through your lies,” Jerry explained quite simply.

“There’s still time for you to do the right thing here. She won’t feel anything,” the leader of the Fireflies bargained, her voice shaky. Joel took a moment to think about her words. He remembered that damned night. The night he lost Sarah. Right before they had come across the soldier. And she was placed in his arms just like Ellie was. A gunshot echoed in the parking deck, and Jerry and Abby couldn’t tell who it was or where it came from. Then, crimson began to blossom on Marlene’s tank top, close to her abdomen. She collapsed, grunting in pain. Jerry, Abby, and Joel rushed to a vehicle. Joel quickly laid Ellie in the backseat before Abby moved in to sit with her, Ellie’s head in her lap. She carefully moved a piece of hair away from her face.

“The guards will be here any minute. Joel, we gotta go,” Jerry explained, hopping into the driver’s seat. But Joel was focused on Marlene, wailing and squirming around on the floor. As if she was a bird that flew into a window. He slowly walked over to her, noticing the pool of blood that encircled her. The leader of the Fireflies grabbed his pant leg.

“Let me go. Please,” Marlene begged.

“Joel, we gotta go now!” Jerry yelled from the running SUV.

“You’d just come after her,” Joel uttered lowly. He pointed his gun at Marlene’s head and pulled the trigger. Her blood painted it’s surroundings, including splattering his pants. Her hand loosened it’s hold on the fabric, dropping to the ground limply. Joel took one last look at her dead body, face down on the concrete, before rushing to the front passenger seat. Jerry put the vehicle in reverse, pulling out on the empty road, before switching gears and driving away. Joel looked back to Abby and Ellie. The blonde had been staring out of the window, checking to see if they were being followed. Ellie’s head still rested in her lap.

“Where to?” Jerry questioned, looking over at Joel.

“Jackson, Wyoming.”

“ _ Goddamn. That’s... That’s a lot. What does Ellie know?” _

“ _ All of it.” _

It was about an hour into the car ride when Ellie woke up. At first she groaned, rubbing her closed eyes. It had seemed, for a few minutes, that she refused to open her eyes. When she finally did, they met Abby’s deep brown ones.

“Hey Abby,” Ellie muttered groggily.

“Hey Ellie,” Abby replied, relief in her voice. Ellie looked down at the gown they put her in for the surgery and frowned.

“The fuck am I wearing?” Ellie murmured, causing Abby, Jerry, and Joel to laugh. 

“I have some clothes for you to change into when we stop,” Abby informed. Joel turned to look back at Ellie as she slowly started to sit up. 

“Hey kiddo, just take it easy, kay? Drugs are still wearin’ off,” Joel said softly. He then resumed his position in his seat, looking down at the map in his lap. 

“What the fuck happened?” Ellie questioned. Everyone in the vehicle except for Ellie sucked in a deep breath. But they told her. They told her everything. Joel told her about after he had left Jerry’s office, when Marlene had him thrown into the cells. Jerry informed her about Marlene’s power hungry rampage, including the true use for the vaccine and rescuing Joel. Abby told her about the standoff in the parking deck, how Marlene had clearly not been sane. At first, it seemed as if Ellie was angry. They didn’t know if it was at Marlene or at her own self. She went quiet for a bit before she had drifted off back to sleep. After that, the car ride was silent, except for the soft music that was playing and Joel’s occasional directions for Jerry. During their first stop was when Ellie woke up. Joel had cleared a gas station when he saw Ellie up on her feet, already changed into the clothes Abby had for her. “Hey Joel, I think you know what time it is.” She pulled a familiar small book from her bag and he groaned, putting a hand on his hip. She flipped through it for a good one, presumably one Joel hadn’t heard of yet, and her eyes lit up when she found it. “Jill broke her finger today, but on the other hand she was completely fine.” Abby and Jerry laughed, and Joel just shook his head at her, smiling. After finding some supplies in the gas station and the surrounding cars—five bullets, a half full gas can, and a few old candy bars—Joel and Jerry traded places and the four were back on the road to Jackson. And eventually, they made it. 

The journey took weeks. Tommy was at the gate when they arrived, quickly hugging Joel and Ellie before they introduced him to Jerry and Abby. Tommy and his wife, Maria, took them on a tour of the town and introduced them to different people. It ended when they stopped in front of a vacant house, one with two stories and a garage in the backyard.

“This one’s yours,” Tommy announced, pulling a small bundle of keys out of his pocket and passing them to Joel. Joel stared at them before he started to speak. Tommy, however, stopped him. “When you first showed up, I knew you’d come back. So while you and Ellie were looking for Fireflies, we were fixin’ up something for you to come back to.” While he spoke, he pulled Maria closer, who smiled kindly. 

“Thanks, Tommy,” Joel replied. He watched Tommy nod, before he turned to Ellie, holding out the keys to her. “Whaddya say, kiddo? Wanna do the honors?”

“Fuck yeah,” Ellie answered, snatching the keys and running up the few stairs toward the door. Joel, Jerry, and Abby followed while Tommy and Maria walked off. They settled into their new home fairly easily. Jerry and Abby left Jackson once three days had passed. They claimed they had family up in Seattle, Washington they could stay with, but promised to come back at least once a year. Ellie had given Abby a drawing. It was of her, light blonde hair in a braid and all. In return, Abby gave Ellie a quarter from her collection. It was the one for Wyoming, with a cowboy riding a horse on the back of it. The stables gave them a horse and supplies and sent them on their way. Ellie stayed at the guard tower and watched them leave until she could see them no longer. They never came back to visit.

_  
_ “ _ We should head back,” _ Tommy announced. It had been a bit since Joel spoke, cleaning up the stringless guitar. Tommy took it as a sign that he was caught up with everything, which was true, there wasn’t any more to tell. Joel and Ellie were fine, and Jerry and Abby were gone. Joel put the rag in his back pocket as he rose to his feet. With the guitar still in hand, his retrieved his pack from the side of the chair he sat in. He attached his bag to his horse’s side of the saddle. He couldn’t remember the horse’s name. Tommy mentioned it, but only once. Then, a name entered his mind.  _ Callus _ . A small smile came at the memory. How he hated that name Ellie gave their horse from before but it had grown on him over time. “Hey, come help me with this,” Tommy said, standing over by the garage door. Joel put the guitar on his back before he approached the shut door, bending down to find the right grip. Once he did, he gave Tommy a single nod before he and his brother pulled the metal door up. It revealed the small neighborhood they had been assigned to and the setting sun. The bodies of dead infected were strewn about on the ground. It wasn’t too much they could handle. But, there was one in one of the houses they were clearing. Both of it’s ankles had been broken, and Tommy walked right by it and freaked out when it grabbed his own ankle. Joel almost pissed himself laughing. It felt nice to laugh. The past year, he had laughed more than he had in the twenty before. Joel mounted his horse, and with a click, his horse took off. They rode back to Jackson together, the cool wind blowing on him. They only stopped once they were at the front gate. When it opened, Joel entered and got off his horse, ready to put it away.

“C’mon,” he spoke softly, making a clicking sound with his mouth as he pulled the reins over the horse’s head.

“It’s okay, I got ‘em” Tommy murmured, reaching over to take the restraints from his older brother. “You go on.” He joined them into one of his hands with the ones from his own horse.

“You sure?” Joel questioned.

“Yeah,” Tommy answered quietly with a smile.

“Alright,” Joel hummed. He strode over to retrieve his pack from the horse’s saddle. Tommy made a clicking sound as he released the bag, carrying it with one of his hands at his side. The younger brother was petting Joel’s horse, who made a little nicker noise.

“About what we were talkin’ about earlier,” Tommy started. He looked away from Joel, as the older brother was mentally questioning what he would say. Tommy let out a scoff, staring at the sky. It had already slipped into a hazy purple to pale yellow as the sun disappeared behind the snowy mountains.

“Can’t say I’d done different.” A feeling of relief washed over Joel. He assumed his brother was talking about the incident with Marlene. Tommy met Joel’s eyes. “I’ll take it to the grave if I have to. Marlene, the cure, Ellie, all of it.” The eldest of the two put his hand on Tommy’s shoulder.

“I’ll see ya later, Tommy,” Joel replied, a silent “thank you” if anyone were to pick between his words. With that, he started his walk toward his home, using the pale yellow as his guide.

For Joel, it didn’t take long to clean up the rest of the guitar and attach the strings. When he and Tommy found it, it was clear it wasn’t for him, but for Ellie. He remembered promising her he would teach her how to play. Although, it was the day they made it to Salt Lake City, and Ellie had been in her head most of the day.

“ _ Yeah, once we’re done with this whole thing, I’m gonna teach you how to play guitar. Yeah, I’d reckon you’d really like that. Whaddya say, huh? Ellie, I’m talkin’ to you.” _

“ _ Huh? Oh yeah, sure. That sounds great.” _

Once Joel finished, he ate a quick dinner before walking out the door into the backyard. Ellie had insisted that she had her own little garage, so they both fixed it up. He had brought in a bed and some furniture Tommy had delivered from an unoccupied house. Joel carefully placed the guitar beside the door. He knocked before opening the door, sticking his head in.

“Hello?” Joel announced himself. Ellie was sitting at her desk and didn’t turn around when he entered. “Ellie?” No answer. He shut the door behind him and walked toward Ellie, looking around at her small home. She had decorated it nicely. She had strung up lights and hung posters. It was all so... Ellie. Once he drew closer, he heard the music coming through her earbuds. Joel peeked over her shoulder, seeing her sketch away in a notebook. On the left side were beautifully drawn deer in different viewing perspectives. However, on the other side, the one she was working on, was a drawing of Abby. He could tell, the braid said it all. But he watched as she struggled to draw the eyes, before completely disregarding them and crossing them out with a harsh stroke of her pencil. Joel carefully moved his foot over, kicking her chair lightly. Ellie jumped, dropping her pencil and looking over to see Joel standing there. 

“Jesus fuck,” Ellie uttered, taking out her earbuds. “You almost gave me a heart attack.” She rose from her seat, closing her notebook and leaning against the table.

“I tried knocking but...” Joel trailed off.

“What’s up, Joel? Got another movie?” Ellie questioned with a smile. Since their arrival in Jackson, Tommy let Joel borrow movies from their time. In fact, the first movie they watched was  _ Star Wars Episode IV: A Hew Hope _ . Joel had picked it almost immediately, knowing Ellie’s deep love for space. And she had enjoyed it from beginning to end. 

“Just checkin’ in,” Joel answered. “No movies yet.” He walked over to an orange lava lamp shaped like a spaceship. “Folks are, y’know, talkin’ about how impressed they are with you and how well you’re helpin’ out.” 

“That’s good. Dina and Jesse have made it their goal to make sure I’m feeling ‘welcomed’” Ellie replied with a small smile. He had only met the pair on one occasion. Ellie had brought them through house instead of going around because it was faster. Dina had her arm around Ellie’s shoulders, laughing at something she said while Jesse walked behind them, laughing too. Ellie introduced them to Joel, who had been in the kitchen drinking coffee at that time. Both of them seemed nice, and he had thanked them for getting Ellie out of the house. He remembered her grinning from ear to ear.

“That’s good to hear,” Joel said. “Oh, Tommy and I went out riding the other day, and he, uh, he told me this dumb joke and I thought of you, it’s, um... Well shit, now I forgot it, uh...” He took a moment to remember it. “I believe it was somethin’ about a clock... ‘How do you-‘“

“Joel, it’s pretty late, and I gotta get up in a few hours-“ Ellie had stopped him, looking over at the time.

“Yeah, I know, I know, I’m gonna get out of your hair, I just...” Joel paused for a beat, a hand on his hip. Then, he started backing up. “I wanna show you somethin’. Just give me one second.” With a finger raised, he opened the door and stepped out, grabbing the guitar. A moment later, he reentered. 

“What’s this?” Ellie asked quietly, a smile pulling at her lips.

“Some folks call this thing here a ‘gee-tar’,” Joel replied, causing Ellie to let out a huff of a laugh.

“Funny,” she murmured.

“Wanna hear somethin’?” Joel asked. He remembered her asking if he could sing for her. There, in that moment, was his chance.

“Of course,” Ellie answered. He sat down lightly on the coffee table, positioning the guitar in his lap and moving his hands where they should be. She sat too, turning her desk chair to face him.

“Promise me that you won’t laugh,” Joel joked, looking up to Ellie. It had been a long time since he even put his hands on a guitar, let alone play one. She threw her hands up in defense.

“I won’t laugh. I won’t,” Ellie promised with an encouraging smile. 

“I’m trustin’ you,” Joel replied. He began by taking a breath in before tuning his guitar. Once he found the right pitch, he started to strum a melody that was familiar to him.

_“If I ever were to lose you, I’d surely lose_

_myself_

_Everything I have found here, I’ve not_

_found by myself_

_Try and sometimes you’ll succeed, to make_

_this man of me_

_All my stolen missing parts, I’ve no need_

_for anymore_

_‘Cause I believe, and I believe ‘cause I can_

_see_

_Our future days, days of you and me”_

When Joel was finished, he looked to Ellie who was beaming at him. It was the happiest he had seen her since her, Dina, and Jesse had walked through the house to the backyard.

“There ya go,” Joel murmured, a little embarrassed.

“Well, that didn’t suck,” Ellie replied. “Thank you.” He nodded, looking down to the guitar in his lap. He stared at the white moth at the very top of the neck. For Ellie. It had always been for Ellie. He rose to his feet, holding the guitar out for her to take it.

“She’s yours,” he proclaimed

“What? No. No, no, no. I don’t know the first thing about this,” Ellie argued. He placed the guitar in her lap, and she held onto it as he had done before, only looser.

“I promised that I’d teach you how to play.”

“You did.” _She remembered._

“So whaddya say? Tomorrow night, first lesson?”

“Deal.”

“Okay,” Joel mumbled, nodding. He retreated toward the open door, seeing the stars that filled the sky.

“Did...” Ellie started, causing Joel to turn around in the doorway, leaning against the frame. “Did you remember the joke?”

“Um...” Joel uttered, trying to think of it. Once he did, he scoffed, gazing up at Ellie. “What is the downside to eating a clock?” He paused for a moment, watching Ellie think. She made a face and shrugged her shoulders, signaling that she didn’t know the answer. “It’s time consuming.” With that, Ellie looked down, laughing a little.

“That’s so dumb,” she laughed out.

“Yeah...” Joel agreed quietly. He looked at the clock on the wall. Half-past midnight. Joel reached for the doorknob, looking over at Ellie. “G’night, kiddo.”

“Night, Joel,” she replied. With that, he shut the door and walked back inside his house. That night, he slept peacefully, knowing that he and Ellie would be okay.


End file.
